1. Technical Field
This invention relates to article sterilization and, more particularly, to a separator device to increase the loading capacity of a sterilization chamber in which articles are sterilized via a sterilizing medium.
2. Discussion
It is well known to sterilize articles such as medical and dental instruments in order to kill all microbes associated with the instruments. Common methods of sterilization include autoclaving, i.e. steam sterilization, chemical-vapor sterilization, and dry heat sterilization. Typically, articles requiring steam or chemical-vapor sterilization are packaged in permeable containers such as pouches, bags, wraps, wrapped trays, or cassettes prior to placement within a sterilization chamber. A typical sterilization chamber includes a plurality of trays upon which the containers or the individual articles themselves are placed for exposure to a particular sterilizing medium. Unfortunately, in order to assure that the sterilizing medium reaches and completely sterilizes all of the articles in the sterilization chamber, the containers should not be stacked higher than two layers thick on any given tray. This limitation assures that the sterilization medium properly flows between each of the layers to properly sterilize all the articles. A problem with layering the containers is that the majority of the sterilization chamber's volume is not effectively utilized. This presents problems in high volume applications where sterilization capacity is limited and sterilization of large quantities of articles is required. In the high volume applications, the containers are often stacked higher than two layers such that the weight of the additional layers prevents the sterilization medium from effectively flowing between each of the layers. This inhibits the sterilizing medium from moving between each of the layers and allows the microbes to survive and be transmitted upon reuse of the articles. In previous applications, additional sterilization chambers are required to accommodate the high volumes of articles. However, this only increases costs without improving the efficiency at which a sterilization chamber's fixed volume is utilized.
Likewise, in dry heat or forced-air dry heat sterilizers, the containers or individual articles must be placed to optimize air circulation throughout the interior volume of a sterilization chamber. Preferably, each of the containers or individual articles are separated by a distance of at least one-half inch. Proper air circulation ensures that the articles are uniformly and thoroughly heated to kill all microbes. As discussed above, the containers should not be stacked beyond two layers high. This leads to overcrowding which prevents instruments located within inner layers from reaching a proper temperature required for effective sterilization and/or requires lengthening the sterilization cycle to attain the proper temperature.
Previous attempts to overcome problems include adding additional trays within a fixed volume sterilization chamber, adding vertical separators within the chamber to vertically align the containers, or using expensive cassettes that provide spacing between the articles. However, none of these solutions provides for maximum use of a sterilization chambers fixed volume.
It is therefore desirable to provide a separator device to increase the loading capacity of a sterilization chamber that does not require multiple trays, metal vertical separators, or cassettes to completely sterilize articles.
More particularly, it is desirable to provide a separator device that is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, reusable, and provides sufficient separation between multiple layers of the articles. These features facilitate circulation of a sterilizing medium between the multiple layers and throughout the sterilization chamber.